alchemo

The side profile of the fighter is a bit thick and yet the leg in batroid mode is still not chunky enough, if it is to compare with the official line arts.

However, it is because the line art was unrealistic.

Many of the VFs are proportional different when drawn in different mode, and that was especially obvious in M7 VFs as the show feature a super-robot-ish mood and the batroid were drawn to look more powerful with chunkier limbs, which would not be possible when in a fighter mode. Yamato manage to get it right with the VF-19 because the design was not as crazy as the the VF-17, unless Yamato make the legs sink into itself when in fighter mode, it will never get as slim as it was drawn in fighter mode (definitely no gun pod storage ).

Look at YF-21 and VF-22, the fighter was perfect but in batroid mode the legs are just too slim, and the gun pods are like pistols

This VF-17 is a compromise, and may be not as perfect as the VF-19, but it is already quite good IMO.

Very worrying to hear the toys breaking, i own a 1st release YF 19 and a 1st release VF 0s, I bought them when they first came out. So far I've had no problems at all, though i've never transformed my VF0s before, but my YF19 has been displayed in batroid mode for a few years. I think it was only last year when i transformed it back to display it as a fighter and it as remained in that mode ever since. I'm gonna have to check them after reading this thread.

I was thinking maybe the climate in some countries affect the plastic, my country isn't really that warm so maybe that is a factor.

Probably yes, here in the sub-tropic it seems to happen eariler.

Can you post a screen capture(or scan from the booklet) of the command page?

OK, I will rephrase my comment as "all plastics deteriorate". everyone happy?

Nonsense? fine, I made the remarks based on what happened to PVC parts of toys that I own, and other people's comments. and it is a general understanding that plastic, as an organic matter, disintegrate eventually, depending on their composition and the condition they are exposed to.

And my comment on PVC parts was not referring to the material used in Yamato's VF-19.

Back on the subject, I'm not sure if factories that mold and assemble toys are also responsible for making the materials, or they just get the plastics in the form of little beads.

I noticed and admired the improvement Yamato had made in the last decade, and for that reason I bought over 30 VFs, and some other mecha toys produced by Yamato in the last 3 years. Maybe I'm lucky that most of my purchase are from the new factory, I certainly hope so.

Honestly, I think the chance for a VF-171 would be when Bandai release the copyright to Yamato to produce Macross Frontier mecha, a few years later. as a minor mecha (not that the mecha is inferior, only not featured as the hero in the show) is really hard to make it to the production line of Bandai nowadays.

For minor mecha or not so popular items I understand the manufacturers have to go exclusive in order to minimise the chance of dead stocks, but I really don't understand the idea of putting some hot items as web exclusive, as the price are usually quite normal locally. (the extra cost was the freight as they are imported in small lot by retailers, usually by express mail)

Is it just a way of hype?

But on really hot items they may end up making less money by not selling them oversea through usual channels.

No sweat, all of them toys manufacturers announce their products at least 2 months prior to release dates nowadays so we just have to fast if more VFs are to be released. which may be a reality next year

I recently broke a little fast pack thruster nozzle on my 1/60 vf-1 v2 hikaru vf-1s because I took the cover off too quickly. Yamato should have made that nozzle soft rubber plastic imo. (like gunpod accessory hands)

I got to superglue that back now. Playing with these is risky even if they are mostly tough.

Sadly all platics disintegrate with time. Soft Rubber, or more often PVC, lasts for less then 3 years. those "soft rubber nozzel" on my Bandai Metal Composite RX-78 begins releasing oil and the paint had changed into a copperish, sticky mess. I am considering replacing all of them with plastic custom parts.

Back to the topic:

IMO, the upper arms of the YF-19(and the VF-19) are slim and had quite a few joints packed together(the VF-19 has a simplified mechanism), which means thinner parts and more stress. Inevitably more easily broken, either by brute force or by the stress of the joints themselfs over time. Maybe the part should have been made with metal(but then it might pose more stress to the shoulder?)

My concern is if the later release have a different material as I have the repackaged YF-19, Bird of Prey, Double Nuts, and the 25 Ann(which seems less durable then the rests).

I would also love to get my hands on those exclusive 1/12 accessories that you speak of.

Me too, but they are all event exclusive and no one in HK is doing any recast.

Thanks DarrinG, but I do have it in my collection, But I wish I have the technique to customize them like that.

I made some weathering to a CM's Scopedog though

To me it's all about compromise, you can't have both.

IMO Yamato did a great job by introducing the ingenious method by pushing up the fuselage, this gives a better overall proportion in battroid mode by shortening the fuselage.

The 1/48 and Bandai 1/100 or I must say all transforming toys and model kits of VF-1 in the past have the common problem, elongated or saggy crotch setction.

Agree 100%

And back to the neck/collar issue, it is not an issue for me and I think it is quite balance between the 3 modes. the only concern I have is that the fuselage should not be shorter than the 1/60 V.2, for sake of the fighter mode.

the way-too-long abdomen is a proportion flaw IMO, other then that it's proportion is very much like the 1/48's, large chest plate, long nose cone. and the gap on the side, if it was to be blow up by 40%, I suspect it would be as wide as the Yamato's.

I do like Bandai's design on the shoulder as it pose a lot less stress on the joint when transforming.

Bandai Hi-Metal have the chest plate higher then the back part to hide the "collar" and the joint for folding the chest plate.

proportionally the nose cone is even longer then Yamato's and if the chest plate is flush with the back, the collar will even protrude more, together with the joint.

And the "ab" area is far too long IMO.

For Yamato's I do prefer the 1/60 then the 1/48, as the nose cone extended below the knee is a bit too much.

and for line art, sometimes it is just impossible to realize, that's why we have wave's very fat batroid and Hasegawa's fighter with very slim, nose cone.

Before beautifying it you may want to change all the joint on this one because almost all my CM's dogs have broken or loose knee and elbow joints. the plastic they use is just too weak!

I’m new here and am happy to see more Votom fans here. I personally like the look of the 1/12 a bit more.

I was late to start collecting them but was lucky that for sometime between 2008 to 2010, some of the items were on big discount and I managed to picked some up for like HKD500.

here are some of the photos I took, hope you like them

Actually it is a bit tricky to get all six claws of the bird spread out and touching the ground, so it is not intentional

More SV-51 gerwalk?

OMG!!! OMG!!!

2012年1月發售: DX超合金 Macross F VF-25F Messiah(Ozama機) Renewal Ver. 14,000Yen

DX超合金 マクロスF(フロンティア) VF-25S メサイアバルキリー(オズマ・リー機) リニューアルVer.

Source: http://blog.yahoo.com/cybergundam/articles/53368/index

This would be my first M-Frontier Mecha purchase, and probably the only one

Now that's how a VF-25 should look like!!!

Bandai nailed down the look of this valk design (loose balljoints aside).

It was reported that the team (is it call Flex or something?)that Yamato work with to develop their VFs were involved in this one.

I may be oversensitive, does it mean a new version (in 1/48 or 1/60) is under development?

When I think of the himetal I think of how this is what yamato could have done when they had the macross zero license since the transformation of the vf-0 is less complex than a vf-1 and the smaller size and cheaper price (at 1/100 scale) means they could probably do ALL the valks. Originally before we got 1/60 vf-0 toys they were going to do part swapping 1/100. Now with bandai himetal I often wonder if yamato could re-release vf-0 toys but instead of part swapping at 1/100, see if they can pull off 1/100 perfect transformation vf-0 toys instead. Not only would it be more affordable (smaller and cheaper, smaller shipping boxes) but it would probably be more "posable and fun" as a little action figure.

Now you could argue that 1/100 is too small to make complex transforming toys but the vf-0 is larger than vf-1, AND less complex in transformation. So if yamato wanted to do ALL the vf-0 variants (face it we are not getting the reactive armor or vf-0D) cheap, they could borrow everything that bandai has achieved on 1/100 vf-1 and just make VF-0

with the advantage that vf-0 is larger than a vf-1 so it wouldn't be harder than making vf-1 at 1/100.

Don't worry about sv-51 at 1/100. Just do all vf-0 at 1/100. Have the ghost booster and reactive armor and all the variants of the vf-0 in this line. They could do that while waiting for a chance to do their own vf-25 10 years from now haha

I myself wouldn't mind to have more VFs available but it seems the 1/60 scale is the way to go, Bandai or Yamato.

The fact that all 1/100 lines had stopped (VF100:VF-25,VF-Hi Metal:VF-1A-web exclusive, YF-19,YF-21 never mentioned again, even non transformable Robot Tamashi and GN-U Dou had stopped),seems to suggest that 1/60 is more effective in bussiness term, and more appealing in the final product, that's why Bandai make a renew 1/60 VF-25, not in any other scale.

I also wonder if 1/100 would cost less to manufacture as the only different is the amount of material used while product development, man-power to assemble and marketing cost would be the same.

I did not get any of the DX VF-25 V.1 but am going to get a V.2 VF-25S. I almost picked up a box of armored VF-25S V.1 3 days before the V.2 VF-25F was announced

Sorry for getting off topic,

I just want to point out that the Hi-metal series is just an OK series, aesthetically and price-wise. and it is not in any way better then Yamato's 1/60s V.2.

Dear 1/1 LowViz Lurker, I notice that you have praised the Bandai Hi-metal for many many times. Here is what happen to me:

I happened to have bought a Hi-metal VF-1S and it's ankle joint is loose as hell and one of the fore nozzle keep falling off and plus, both of the knee caps are left side so the right knee always has a gap even in fighter mode.

I have one Yamato 1/60 VF-1 V.2 with broken shoulder joint out of the box. other then that all the other 1/60 VF-1 V.2 have great Q.C.

Over Here most of the 1/60 V.2 are sold at about 60% more expensive then the Hi-metal VF-1S and I think the different is more then justified as the Yamato ones are a lot more superior then the Bandai one in many ways.

and the 3 VF-1As are all web exclusive, making them more expensive then the 1/60s of the same design and the super parts are all web exclusive, this is sheer insane！